Key Largo (1948).

Key Largo (1948). film noir directed by John Huston. Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Edward G. Robinson, Lauren Bacall, Lionel Barrymore, and Claire Trever. Key Largo, was the fourth and final film pairing of married actors Bogart and Bacall. Trevor won the 1948 Academy Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her performance.

Veteran Frank McCloud, travels to Key Largo, Florida to pay his respects to the family of George Temple, who died under his command during World War II. George's wheelchair-bound father James runs the hotel with George's widow, who insists that he stay the night. Sitting at the bar are Nora, Frank, Curly Hoff, Toots, Angel and Gaye Dawn. Nora, explains to him that they offered her father-in-law so much money to open the hotel for them, that he could not say no.

It is not long before, a hurricane warning is issued and Nora, runs around closing all the shutters, when the telephone rings. Curly, answers the phone and tells the caller that the Temples are not there and he also has not seen local police officer named, Sawyer. When Temple speaks up, the men pull their guns. The men's boss comes downstairs and Frank recognizes him as the gangster Johnny Rocco. Johnny Rocco and his men, have already captured and beaten Sawyer, who was looking for the Oceola brothers, who had just escaped from jail.

When Rocco, makes a pass at Nora, she spits in his face and Frank quickly talks him out of killing her. Rocco throws him a gun and tells him that he can rid the world of Rocco if he is also willing to die. Frank, throws the gun and Sawyer grabs it and tries to escape. Rocco kills Sawyer, revealing that the other gun was not loaded. Rocco then demands Gaye, his alcoholic girlfriend, to sing a song before she can have a drink. She does not sing very well, Rocco refuses to give her a drink, Frank feels sorry for her and pours her a drink. Rocco slaps him and once again, Frank does nothing.

After the storm passes, Rocco learns they lost the boat in the storm. He orders Frank to take Temple's boat to take him to Cuba. Just before they leave, a second police officer comes looking for Sawyer and finds his body laying outside the hotel. Rocco, blames the murder on the Oceola brothers and when the the brothers try to escape, the officer shoots them. As Rocco and his men prepare to leave, Gaye begs Rocco to take her with them, she grabs his gun from his pocket without him knowing and slips it to Frank. Will Frank save them and get out of this alive?

Key Largo, is a story about a bad situation in which from the beginning you wonder when Frank (if ever), is going to make his move, but.. as luck would have it the hurricane changes things around .

Thomas Gomez (July 10, 1905 – June 18, 1971), began his acting career in theater during the 1920s and was a student of the actor Walter Hampden. He made his first film Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror in 1942 and by the end of his career had appeared in sixty films.

He received a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the film, Ride the Pink Horse (1947). His other film roles include: Who Done It? (1942), Key Largo (1948), Force of Evil (1948), The Conqueror (1956) and his final film Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970).

Pre-Code: Dinner at Eight (1933).

Dinner at Eight(1933). Pre-Code drama. Directed by George Cukor. Cast: Billie Burke, Lionel Barrymore, Madge Evans, and Jean Harlow.

The story begins, One week before Millicent Jordan's next big society dinner, she is proud to learn that Lord and Lady Ferncliffe, who she and her husband Oliver, had met in England the year before, have accepted her dinner invitation. Millicent, is oblivious to her families lack of concern about her dinner party, while she is on a man hunt, looking for an "extra man" for her single female guest, former actress Carlotta Vance.

Oliver, is worried that someone is secretly trying to buy out the company stock. Carlotta, a woman from his past, visits him at his office and wants to sell her stock in the Jordan Shipping Line. She asks Oliver to buy it from her, but .. he does not have the money. Oliver, is then visited by Dan Packard, who he asks to take over some of his stocks until his business improves. Dan agrees, then goes home to tell his, gold digger wife Kitty that the Jordan Line, is a valuable asset and he plans on taking it over.

Unknown to Dan, Oliver asks Millicent invite the Packard's, to her dinner party to win Dan over. The tacky, social climber Kitty, accepts the invitation but Dan refuses to go, believing he is to good for the Jordans.



He quickly changes his mind when he finds out the Ferncliffes, the richest couple in England will be there. Another of Millicent's invited guests, will be Dr. Wayne Talbot, who has been having a affair with Kitty.

Millicent, calls Larry Renault, a faded silent movie star and extends a last-minute invitation, unaware that Paula is in love with him. At Paula's urging, Larry, divorce three times and a alcoholic, accepts the invitation, but tells Paula to forget him and return to Ernest. Paula, refuses to take Larry seriously.

Later, Larry is visited by his agent, Max Kane, who breaks the news to Larry that the plays new producer, Jo Stengel, wants another actor in the lead but will cast Larry, in a bit part. Larry, agrees to think over the offer, then sends a bellboy to pawn off a few of his possessions for a bottle of alcohol.

The next day, Dr. Talbot is caught by his wife Lucy talking with Kitty, on the telephone and confesses that he is addicted to women and needs help. Talbot, then rushes to see Oliver, who is at the Doctor's office with chest pains. When he returns home, Oliver tries to explain to Millicent, that he needs his rest, but.. she is too hysterical to hear because, the Ferncliffes have cancelled and are on their way to Florida. Paula, too, is turned away by her upset mother and has to face Ernest alone.

Later, Angry Kitty reveals to Dan, that she is having an affair. When threatened with divorce, Kitty tells her husband that, if he wants his Cabinet appointment, he must back down from his takeover of Oliver's line and treat her with more respect.

Just before he leaves for the dinner, Larry is visited by Max and Jo Stengel and drunkenly puts Stengel down for insulting him with his offer. After Max blames him for ruining his last career chance and the hotel management kicks him out, What is Larry to do and what will happen next at the ill-fated big society dinner?

Loved the all-star cast. Loved Jean Harlow's, clothes and her wonderful performance as the wife of Wallace Beery. John Barrymore, is also wonderful performing as the once famous actor from the silent era, who cannot accept the fact that his career is over. To me the film is just a perfect time capsule back in time: the depression, the transition from silents to talkies. And... I just loved the gorgeous sets.

Madge Evans (July 1, 1909 – April 26, 1981). Was featured in print ads as the 'Fairy Soap girl' as an infant. She made her professional debut at the age of six months, posing for artist's models. When she was four years old, Evans was featured in a series of child plays produced by William A. Brady. She worked at the old Long Island, New York movie studio. Her success was immediate, so much so that her mother loaned her daughter's name to a hat company. Evans posed in a mother and child tableau with Anita Stewart, then 16, for an Anheuser-Busch Brewing Company calendar, and as the little mountain girl in, Heidi of the Alps.

As a child film actress Evans had a wonderful career performing in many films. In 1914 aged 5 she performed in, Seven Sisters. In 1915 she also performed in the film, Alias Jimmy Valentine. At 14 she was the star of the film, On the Banks of the Wabash(1923). She co-starred with Richard Barthelmess in Classmates(1924). She was working on stage when she signed with Metro Goldwyn Mayer in 1927.

While working for MGM in the 1930s, she performed in the film, Dinner at Eight (1933), Broadway to Hollywood (1933), Hell Below (1933), and David Copperfield (1935). In 1933, she starred with James Cagney in the film, The Mayor of Hell. Other well know movies in which she performed in: Beauty for Sale (1933), Grand Canary (1934), What Every Woman Knows (1934)and Pennies From Heaven (1936).

Grand Hotel (1932).

Grand Hotel(1932). Drama directed by Edmund Goulding. The screenplay by William A. Drake and Béla Balázs is based on the 1930 play of the same title by Drake, who had adapted it from the 1929 novel Menschen im Hotel by Vicki Baum. The film is the only one to have won the Academy Award for Best Picture without it or its actors being nominated in any other category. The film was remade as, Week-End at the Waldorf (1945).

The film begins when, Grand Hotel permanent resident Doctor Otternschlag, a veteran of World War I , watches while people are coming and going.

Next.. you have Baron Felix von Geigern, who supports himself gambling and part-time jewel thief. He becomes friends with Otto Kringelein , who is dying and wants to spend his last days in a beautiful hotel after a life time scrimping and saving.

Then you have.. Kringelein's former employer, Preysing, closing a deal with the help of his stenographer, Flaemmchen. Who really wants to become an actress and she is willing to do anything to advance her acting career.

Another guest is... Russian ballerina Grusinskaya , whose career is beginning to fade. When She returns from the theatre, she finds Baron in her room stealing her pearls and she tells him, "I want to be alone." Baron decides to stay and Grusinskaya, does not seem to really want him to leave.

The next morning, Baron returns Grusinskaya's pearls, but after a wonderful night with him, she does not seem to concerned about the necklace and invites him to travel with her to Vienna, which he accepts the invitation.

Later, during afternoon tea, the Baron joins Kringelein and Flaemmchen, talks the frail man into dancing with her. Preysing, demands she join him in his suite. Not happy, with his former boss rude behavior, Kringelein gives him a piece of his mind. Preysing, is about to hit Kringelein up side the head, when the Baron jumps in and invites him to join him in a game of cards. Kringelein accepts and wins everything, when he becomes intoxicated and drops his wallet, the Baron picks it up and hides it in his jacket pocket. When Kringelein, begins to search for his lost wallet, the Baron pretends to have suddenly have found the wallet returns it to him.

As part of a merger, Preysing must travel to London and he asks Flaemmchen to join him. Later, when the two are in her room, Preysing sees the shadow of the Baron going through his things. He confronts the Baron and the two get into a fight. Preysing hits the Baron with the telephone, killing him. Flaemmchen comes in and sees what happened. Preysing, insists he acted in self-defense, but Kringelein calls the police and has Preysing arrested.

Grusinskaya leaves for the train station, expecting to find the Baron waiting for her. Kringelein, offers to take Flaemmchen, to Paris to find a cure for his illness. As they leave the hotel, Doctor Otternschlag once again watches, the people coming and going in "Grand Hotel"....

Greta Garbo, is definitely the star of the film, but Joan Crawford, also gives a wonderful performance. Lionel Barrymore and John Barrymore are also impressive. The cinematography is beautiful, as it gives us the grandness of the Grand Hotel, the overhead shot of the operators who are taking the calls and then focusing on everyone who are busy with their own lives, is very interesting to watch.



Fun Facts:

There are no scenes where Greta Garbo and Joan Crawford are in the same frame. This was done to eliminate the possibility that one of the two great stars might upstage the other.

Joan Crawford was irked by Greta Garbo's insistence on top billing and decided to take her revenge. Knowing that Garbo loathed tardiness and Marlene Dietrich in equal measures, Crawford played Dietrich records between shots and made sure to arrive late on set.

The only Best Picture Oscar winner not to be nominated for any other Academy Awards.

Lewis Stone (November 15, 1879 – September 12, 1953). He performed in the film, Nomads of the North(1920), playing a Royal Canadian Mounted Policeman. He performed in the title role in the silent film version of, The Prisoner of Zenda(1922), as well as, Rudolf Rassendyll.

Stone was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for, The Patriot (1929). After that, he performed in seven movies with Greta Garbo, in both the silent and sound periods. He played the role of Dr. Otternschlag in the Garbo film, Grand Hotel, in which, completely unaware of all the high drama that is going on, he says the famous closing line: "Grand Hotel. People come. People go. Nothing ever happens". He played a larger role in the Garbo film, Queen Christina(1933).  He performed in the films, Big house, The Lost World (1925),The Mask of Fu Manchu (1932) and Missing Persons (1933).

In 1937, Stone began the role which would become his most famous, that of Judge James Hardy, in the Mickey Rooney "Andy Hardy" series. Stone performed as the judge in fifteen movies, beginning with You're Only Young Once (1937).

The Valley of Decision (1945)

The Valley of Decision (1945)Cast: Greer Garson, Gregory Peck, Lionel Barrymore, Preston Foster, Marsha Hunt, Gladys Cooper, Reginald Owen, Dan Duryea and Jessica Tandy. The movie was adapted by Sonya Levien and John Meehan from the novel (1943) by Marcia Davenport. The film was directed by Tay Garnett.

Mary Rafferty lives in a small house with her wheelchair-bound father Pat and her widowed sister, Kate Shannon, in Pittsburgh known as "The Flats." Mary informs her father that she has taken a job as a live-in maid at the home of steel mill owner William Scott. Her father Pat, lost his legs in an accident at Scott's mill and wants revenge against the family, disapproves. Soon after starting her job, Mary becomes friends with William's wife Clarissa, his daughter Constance, and his three sons. Mary falls head over heals in love with Paul, who has just returned home from London and has plans to modernize the furnace at the Scott mill. A romance soon blooms between Paul and Mary, much to the dismay of Louise Kane, who is determined to marry Paul for his money. The romance between Paul and Mary is endangered when Mary's family and friends, all steel mill workers, go on strike against Paul's father.

I just saw the film The Valley of Decision for the 2nd time. If you love romance, you will love this movie. The cast of characters are wonderful. Although Greer Garson is much older than Gregory Peck. You really do not notice the age difference and their romance is very believable.


Jessica Tandy began her career at the age of 16 in London, opposite Laurence Olivier and John Gielgud. She moved to the United States and performed in many supporting roles in Hollywood films. She made her first American film: The Seventh Cross (1944). She also performed in The Valley of Decision (1945), The Green Years (1946, as Cronyn's daughter), Dragonwyck (1946) starring Gene Tierney and Forever Amber (1947). Over the following three decades, her career continued with films: Alfred Hitchcock's, The Birds (1963), and a Tony Award-winning performance in The Gin Game in 1977.The beginning of the 1980s she performed in character roles in The World According to Garp, Best Friends, Still of the Night (all 1982) and The Bostonians (1984), and Cocoon (1985) and Cocoon: The Return (1988). Foxfire which won her an Emmy Award . However, it was her performance in Driving Miss Daisy (1989), that earned her an Oscar. She earned a Best Supporting Actress nomination for her work in Fried Green Tomatoes (1991), and co-starred in The Story Lady (1991 telefilm, with daughter Tandy Cronyn), Used People (1992, as Shirley MacLaine's mother), To Dance with the White Dog (1993 telefilm, with husband Hume Cronyn), Nobody's Fool (1994), and Camilla . Camilla was to be her last performance, at the age of 84.

DUEL IN THE SUN (1946)

Duel in the Sun (1946) Romance/ Western. Directed by King Vidor. Produced and written by David O. Selznick. Who wote the Hollywood classics "Gone With the Wind", "Since You Went Away" and "Rebecca". Wonderful Cast: Jennifer Jones, Joseph Cotten, Gregory Peck, Lillian Gish and Lionel Barrymore.



Before Scott Chavez is hanged for murdering his Indian wife and her lover, he makes arrangements for Pearl to live with his second cousin and old sweetheart, Laura Belle. He makes his his daughter Pearl promise that she will grow up to be a lady. Laura Belle welcomes Pearl into her home on Spanish Bit, the Texas cattle ranch where she lives with her husband,"Senator" McCanles, and their two grown sons, Jesse and Lewt. McCanles, confined to a wheelchair, is not happy that Pearl has come to live with them and calls her "a half-breed". Both Jesse and Lewt are attracted to her. Later that night, Lewt forces his way into her bedroom and kisses her. Pearl loves the kindhearted Jesse, but physically attracted to the wild womanizing Lewt and cannot resist him. When a railroad company wins the legal right to build tracks through McCanles ranch, McCanles and his ranch hands try to defend their land. Jesse, a lawyer, takes the side of the railroad, his father bans him from the ranch.

When Lewt returns early from El Paso, he finds none of the men home and seduces Pearl. Jesse finds them together and tells her that he will never forget what he has seen. Pearl now wants Lewt to marry her, but when he makes it clear that he has no intention of marring her, she quickly becomes engaged to Sam Pierce. Lewt goes into a jealous rage and kills Sam. Will this broken family over come their prejudice and forbidden love of Pearl and Lewt?

My favorite scene of the film is: When McCanles tells Laura Belle that he has always blamed her for his injury. When he thought she was going away to be with Chavez. He now knows it was his own jealousy that caused the accident. He admits that he has always loved her.

Another favorite, is this lighthearted scene between Lewt and Pearl .

Ottilie Ethel Leopoldine "Tilly" Losch, Countess of Carnarvon (15 November 1903 –24 December 1975) was an Austrian-born dancer, choreographer, actress and painter who lived and worked for most of her life in the United States and United Kingdom. She performed in several screen productions including: Limelight (1936), The Garden of Allah (1936), The Good Earth (1937) and Duel in the Sun (1946). Her choreography was seen in, Song of Scheherazade (1947). Dissatisfied with supporting film roles, she continued working as a dancer and choreographer and acted on Broadway. Losch guested with the New York Ballet in a work by Antony Tudor and in London she had danced to Léonide Massine's choreography. Her best known conception was "The Hand Dance" (a collaboration with her Viennese colleague, Hedy Pfundmayr) which featured in a short dance film by Norman Bel Geddes.

THE NEW YORK HAT (1912) Mary Pickford

"The New York Hat" (1912) is one of the many short films D.W. Griffith directed at Biograph. It marks Griffith's last collaboration with Mary Pickford and presents a youthful Lionel Barrymore in a leading role. The story begins with the death of a small town woman, Mrs. Goodhue, who leaves a letter to her young minister, Preacher Bolton, played by Lionel Barrymore. The letter tells how her miserly husband worked her to death. She asks Preacher Bolton to carry out her wish that he buy nice things for her daughter out of the money she has saved. Mary Pickford plays the daughter, Mollie, who later dreams of a New York hat she has seen in a store window.

Unfortunately, it costs ten dollars. Loyal to the dead mother's wishes, Preacher Bolton buys the hat for Mollie, giving it to her as a gift, but telling her to keep this a secret. Since townswomen shopping in the store saw Preacher Bolton make the purchase, they naturally assume the worst when Mollie wears the hat to church. Soon gossip spreads through the town. Enraged, Mollie's father destroys her beloved hat. Preacher Bolton is warned he will have to right the wrong he's done Mollie, but he shows her father and the town gossips her mother's letter. The ending is quite a surprise. Aside from being an early pioneer one-reel film with historical significance, I find "The New York Hat" to be still enjoyable almost one hundred years later. It is one of the most successful shorts from Griffith's Biograph period with fine performances from two legends of early film. Pickford had a real gift for portraying innocence. This film shows how she had already mastered the art of projecting emotions through the lens directly to the audience. Barrymore shows himself to be a fine screen actor and also gets the full benefit of Griffith's camera. Only sixteen minutes in duration, "The New York Hat" is a charming little drama that still has the power to move modern viewers.

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